【21】 Mika thinks that non-native speakers can improve ______.

Tutor: So, you have all told me that you have been having difficulties with taking part in seminar discussions. I’ve invited you here to see if we can come up with some suggestions and solutions. Some- times talking about these things can be helpful. Mika, you said that you think speaking and listening abilities are related.
Mika: Yes, it was really difficult because basically I ... I wasn’t good at listening during discussions. You know, you need to understand what is going on so if you miss some things that people say it’s very difficult to catch up with the topic. Also, when the tutor asked me a question sometimes I couldn’t understand the question and I was answering by making a guess about what he was asking. Usually, the result was that he said something like ’I think you didn’t understand my question’, which was quite embarrassing for me.
Tutor: Martina, have you personally had many difficulties taking part in discussions?
Martina: Oh, yes. Definitely. Especially at the very beginning of the course. In terms of speaking, I think I feel that the students, when they talk in class, there is no end to the conversation. They sometimes talk continuously regardless of whether you raise a hand. However, they will usually stop and let you speak if you just interrupt someone. At the beginning I think I was trying to adapt to this kind of environment or classroom chemistry. It was also difficult because of my language ability. At the beginning, students, especially native speaker students, well, their English is, well I don’t need to comment about their English, but the speed and the fluency of their English made interaction or intervention, ... I mean interruption, very difficult for students like me, like us, non-native speakers. One thing I learnt to try and do is to think and try to anticipate where the discussion might go, so that when, for example, they talk about something, you know, like, ... when they talk about for example how children think, I can get some ideas in my mind and then I can join in. Before, by the time I had collected all my thoughts and was ready to join in, the discussion had moved on. So, basically, I think it requires you to think quickly and think ahead if you want to join in.
Tutor: Michal, have you done anything to try and improve and to participate in such discussions?
Michal: I think I have. For example, now, I have more discussions with my classmates outside the classroom and talk with them about some of the questions raised in the seminars. If you ask tutors about your concerns, they listen to you very carefully and they pay attention to the issue in future seminars. They also try to, how do you say it in English? ... catch your eye and see if you are ready to make a comment. If you are, they interrupt the native speakers and ... what’s the other idiom? ... give you the floor. That’s it. Tutors are very good at accommodating all people in the room, but you have to let them know you want to speak. Eye contact and body language can be useful.
Tutor: Martina, with regards to speaking in discussions what advice would you give to another student coming to study in England?
Martina: Be polite when you discuss something or argue something. Don’t be aggressive. Just be polite and argue in a polite way and if you say something wrong, just admit it. English students don’t mind if you make a mistake, and you should admit it and then continue the argument or discussion. If I have really good idea or previous knowledge about the subject under discussion, my view is respect- ed, but if I don’t have anything to say about the topic, that’s not good, so I advise the students from overseas to be prepared and to be polite. It’s a good chance for you to talk and share. Take it.
Tutor: Mika, what advice would you give to international students about how to prepare for discussion activities?
Mika: If you ... if you want to improve your English abilities it takes some time. You must be realistic. You cannot make a quick improvement easily, but what you can do immediately is to have enough knowledge on that subject. If you have enough knowledge, for example if you know technical terms, you can ... there is a much higher probability that you will understand the content of the seminar. You can also help yourself by using your English outside seminars. If you make some friends from your seminar groups, you will also find that they like to discuss, er, discuss topics with you in the seminars. So that’s the advice I would give. I agree with Martina about being prepared before the discussion. I find that English students are very interested in how things are done, or tackled, in other countries. However, they can be impatient if you take too long to express yourself.
Tutor: Well, thank you very much. I hope that’s given you a few ideas. Now, there is something else I can suggest ...